ABOUT THIS ALBUM

Album Notes

Frank Tuma is proud to present "Island Dancing." This CD is a mix of music from all of the Caribbean islands, and presents songs that come from haunting, desolate, lonely locations in the Andes to underground music hot spots in Cuba, and to the ever-popular boisterous carnival parades in Trinidad, Rio and Nassau. These rhythms and counter-rhythm melodies come from the places I have traveled and sailed to under sometimes difficult conditions, but with mostly thrilling escapades and friendships.

While attending college, I played at various bars and resorts to help pay for my education as a physicist. This valuable exposure to the life of working musicians convinced me to continue my education and make my way in the world of science. However, life throws interesting curves, and my goals and objectives were tinkered with and music never left the scene. Between extensive business travel and sailboat racing, I was introduced to Central and South America and most of the islands, especially in our hemisphere. Their rhythms and melodies never left me, until they exploded into a never-ending outpouring of musical compositions and a need to share them.

Florida sailing out of Cape Canaveral brought the Bahamas and all of its delicious and outrageous counter beats into my music while the endless surf beating on the hot sands of hundreds of islands brought me their catchy melodies floating on the wind. New Orleans and space rockets brought a mix of sound as tasty as the foods served behind old and rustic exteriors surrounding antique furnishings and indoor courtyards, and the beat goes on. While in Houston, I found myself playing the vibraphones and keyboards with a Hawaiian music group. This added a new musical dimension and lifelong friends who helped me pursue island music beyond my known boundaries. Science taught me about the boundless energy in the universe; traveling by sailboat to hundreds of islands and Central and South America provided me musical experiences well beyond the reach of classrooms, TV and high tech studies.

The creation of music, in my case, is based on the emotional settings and my response to them. This surely produces a uniqueness and originality not found very often. These kinds of experiences never leave me and continuously guide my fingers over the keys.. The energy from the universe, especially at night, stimulates me to compose, arrange and perform music based on all my emotional experiences.

I now live on Pine Island, which is located on the southwest coast of Florida. It is a beautiful and mostly unspoiled place surrounded by estuaries and dozens of little islands where dolphins, manatees and colonies of birds live. In this setting, especially on star filled nights, my creative juices flow with music. Please join me and listen to the rhythms of the universe.